Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has become infamous for enacting some of the strictest restrictions in the country on her state.
That’s why it came as somewhat of a surprise this week when she backed down and agreed that there will be no mask mandates in schools and no vaccine passports in her state.
TIRED OF THE ADS? BECOME A PREMIUM USER TODAY!! [1]
This week, Whitmer and the state legislature reached an agreement on a budget proposal that bans health officials from enforcing mask mandates in schools. It also prohibits public agencies in Michigan from forcing employees and customers to get vaccinated.
“The director or local health officer shall not issue or enforce any orders or other directives that require an individual in this state who is under the age of 18 to wear a face mask or face covering,” reads the 1,000-page budget. [2]
This could mean that health officials’ mask mandates in Michigan counties like Oakland and Wayne may soon be null and void. Instead, local school boards and districts will be able to make their own decisions about restrictions.
“The governor has demonstrated that she believes that local health departments and local school boards should be involved in these decisions,” said Oakland County Executive David Coulter. “I agree with that, and an opportunity to remove us from that would be a huge mistake, and I would certainly hope that she would not support that.”
***FOLLOW US ON TELEGRAM*** [3]
According to Fox News, Whitmer has made it clear that she plans to sign the budget by October 1.
“I am thrilled that the legislature and I were able to come together to agree on a bipartisan budget,” she said. “Our collaboration is a testament to what’s possible when we work together and put our families, communities, and small businesses first.”
Whitmer may have backed down on her crazed COVID-19 restrictions because she’s realized that the people of Michigan have finally had enough of her nonsense.
This was shown by the fact that she is currently trailing former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, a Republican, by 6 points in a hypothetical general election matchup, accordion to a survey from the GOP-leaning Trafalgar Group [4]. This poll shows that Craig leads Whitmer by 50.4 percent to 44.4 percent among likely general election voters.
Craig announced that he would be running for governor earlier this month after being urged to do so by Republicans in his state. Eight other Republicans have also launched campaigns to challenge Whitmer, whose popularity has plummeted throughout the coronavirus pandemic.